Mary Rosse

• Name — Mary Parsons, Countess of Rosse • Birth Name — Mary Field • Born — 14 April 1813 • Birthplace — Heaton Hall, Bradford, UKGBI • Died — 22 July 1885 • Place of death — 10 Connaught Place, London, UKGBI • Occupation — * Photographer • astronomer • blacksmith • architect • Children — 11, including Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse Sir Charles Algernon Parsons • Relatives — Katharine Parsons (daughter-in-law) Rachel Mary Parsons (granddaughter) William Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse (grandson) Michael Parsons, 6th Earl of Rosse (great-grandson) Bridget Parsons (great-granddaughter) Desmond Parsons (great-grandson) Brendan Parsons, 7th Earl of Rosse {great-great-grandson)

Mary Field was born on 14 April 1813, at Heaton Hall, Bradford, England, to John Wilmer Field, a wealthy estate owner, and Ann Field (née Wharton-Myddleton; died 1815). She had a sister, Delia, and they were educated at home by Susan Lawson, a governess who encouraged the young Mary's creativity and broad interests, including astronomy. The sisters were joint heirs to their father's fortune. Through her family, she met the future 3rd Earl of Rosse, then Lord Oxmantown (1800–1867), an Anglo-Irish astronomer and naturalist, and they were married on 14 April 1836. In February 1841, Lord Oxmantown succeeded his father in the family peerage to become The 3rd Earl of Rosse. They had married on 14 April 1836, her 23rd birthday. Mary, Baroness Oxmantown, thus now became The Countess of Rosse.

In the early 1840s, the couple became interested in astronomy, and Mary Rosse helped her husband, Lord Rosse, build a number of giant telescopes, including the so-called Leviathan Telescope, which was considered a technical marvel in its time. The author, Henrietta Heald, contends that Rosse was not only a financial support to the building of the telescope, but that she also was involved in a practical and intellectual capacity. The Leviathan of Parsontown was completed in 1845 and held the record as the world's largest telescope for over 70 years, and was mentioned in Jules Verne’s science fiction novel, From the Earth to the Moon. During the Great Famine of 1845–47 in Ireland, she was responsible for keeping over five hundred men employed in work in and around Birr Castle, where she and her husband lived. She created a huge dining room at Birr Castle in which to entertain scientific guests, which became increasingly used when Lord Rosse became President of the Royal Society of London in 1848. Guests included mathematician William Hamilton, who wrote her a sonnet about his experience of gazing through the Leviathan.

The Countess of Rosse gave birth to eleven children, but only four survived until adulthood: • Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse (17 November 1840 – 30 August 1908) • Reverend Randal Parsons (26 April 1848 – 15 November 1936) • Hon. Richard Clere Parsons (21 February 1851 – 26 January 1923), apparently made a name for himself building railways in South America. • Sir Charles Algernon Parsons (13 June 1854 – 11 February 1931), known for his commercial development of the steam turbine. His wife, Lady Katharine Parsons and their daughter Rachel Parsons were founders of the Women's Engineering Society and its first and second presidents.

On 22 July 1885, Mary, Dowager Countess of Rosse, died aged 72 at her home on 10 Connaught Place, London.

Mary Rosse was recorded at birth as Mary Field. The authorities additionally record the headings Mary Rosse, Countess of Rosse, Mary Parsons, Countess of Rosse and Mary Parsons. Her recorded language was English. She was the child of John Wilmer Field. She married William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse. 4 children are recorded: Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse, Richard Parsons, Randal Parsons and Charles Algernon Parsons.

Mary Rosse is recorded as photographer, blacksmith, artist and astronomer.